Ubuntu, I 'buntu, We all 'buntu, (but only if we want'u).

Hide the Desktop icons in Gnome for a clutter free Ubuntu

Run gconf-editor (Alt-F2, type gconf-editor, Press “Run”) and navigate the tree to find /apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop. Set the value to false (uncheck the checkbox), and your Desktop icons should disappear.

You can still access any files on the Desktop using the file manager (eg, under the “Places” menu), but they will no longer obscure the view of your snazzy desktop background.

Hey, thanks for the tip Nykeej. I wasn’t familiar with Ubuntu Tweak ( http://ubuntu-tweak.com/ ), but it looks great tool for power users … exposes lots of little options that are otherwise buried, and some nice package management stuff. It pretty much deserves a dedicated post on this otherwise quiet blog …